Tony Fitzjohn once lived in a hut with George Adamson, of Born Free fame. Now he has built a remarkable family eco home in the wildest depths of Tanzania

Slideshow: Born wild

The Fotzjohn family at their home in a remote 1,350 sq mile national park in northern Tanzania

He has survived a mauling by a lion, his best friend and mentor was murdered
by Somali bandits, and he has overcome alcoholism, even though the nearest
AA meeting was 200 miles away. So, when it came to creating a family home in
a remote 1,350 sq mile national park in northern Tanzania, Tony Fitzjohn, a
British-born wildlife conservationist, didn’t bat an eyelid. “I arrived here
at Mkomazi, a complete wilderness, 21 years ago, with nothing but a broken
heart, a Land Rover and a drink problem,” says Fitzjohn, 65. “So we’ve come
a long way since then. And I’d like to think we’ve got all we need.”

Fitzjohn, his wife, Lucy, 43, and their four children — Alex, 14, Jemima, 13,
and identical twins Imogen and Tilly, 10 — now live in a turreted
four-bedroom home built out of the local gold-and-grey rock, with views over
baobab- and acacia-studded savanna to